


Mothers' Love

by dreamerofrealities



Series: Mothers' Love [1]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Abandonment Issues, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Mention of spanking, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Multi, Original Character(s), Parent Kya II, Parent Lin Beifong, Parent-Child Relationship, Personal Growth, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:02:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27718565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamerofrealities/pseuds/dreamerofrealities
Summary: The aftermath of Thi's tumultuous day and what happens after she is punished for her actions.  Thi, a 16 year old girl who came to live with Kya and Lin a year ago, is learning to accept her mothers' love, even if she doesn't realize that they both love her as if she came from their wombs yet.
Relationships: Kya II (Avatar)/Original Character(s), Lin Beifong/Kya II, Lin Beifong/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Mothers' Love [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2027402
Comments: 10
Kudos: 48





	1. The Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all, I kinda wrote this fanfic as a way of depicting what the hurt child in me wants out of a mother-daughter relationship. Unconditional love and support, and a stern guiding hand when needed. If any of you guys out there are also hurting in this way, then this is for you guys too. 
> 
> If any of you guys are wondering, Thi's name is pronounced like the letter "t" haha so it's just "t" when you say her name. It's a Viet name by the way!
> 
> This oneshot explores what happens after the original character gets a spanking for cheating on her schoolwork and how Kya and Lin react. Even though there is no direct spanking scene, there is mentions of it, and if you are uncomfortable with spanking, PLEASE DON'T READ IT.

The punishment was finally over, much to both Lin and Thi’s relief. 

  


“Shhh it’s ok. We’re done. You can get up now Thi.”, Lin comforted, as she rubbed the younger girl’s back. 

  


Standing up, the teenager squirmed in her spot, shifting her feet and wringing her hands together. She looked straight ahead at the wall behind Lin, afraid of seeing eyes that would eventually tell her she was unwanted. _Is she still angry at me? What if she doesn't LIKE me anymore?_

  


The two prevalent thoughts in her head were conflicting. One told her to seek comfort and forgiveness from Lin, while the other told her to stop getting so attached and just run back to the room she was staying in to wallow in her embarrassment. Thi was about to go with the latter choice for fear of being rejected by the woman she had recently grown so attached to when Lin spoke up amid her sniffling.

  


~~

  


Lin was going to leave the decision up to Thi over whether she wanted her comfort or not, but once she took a look at the girl’s face, she knew that she would need to be the one who offered it. She took the girl's hands, pulling her out of her thoughts, and asked, "Do you want to sit on my lap kiddo?"

  


She noticed the girl's eyes flickering between her eyes and the wall several times before she gave a shy nod; however, no move had been made towards sitting in the woman's lap. It wasn't until Lin gently ushered Thi closer that she gingerly sat down in Lin's lap, trying to find a position that hurt her bottom the least and wincing whenever she brushed by her sit spots.

  


After finding a decently comfortable position, she sat rigidly, unsure of whether she would be allowed to stay, but once she felt Lin's right hand slipping underneath her shirt and lightly scratching at her back, she snuggled into her arms, wrapping her arms around Lin’s waist. She rested her head in the crook of Lin’s neck for a while, with her eyes closed as she tried to calm herself down. Thi then willed herself to look up at the woman's face to apologize, and upon looking up, she was met with soft, jade green eyes. 

  


Those soft, jade green eyes were the same eyes that looked upon her every time she was praised for doing something well. Those were the eyes that looked at her whenever she animatedly talked about her passions. Those eyes were awarded to her whenever she did something well, or followed instructions given to her by either Lin or Kya. Her _mothers,_ she secretly considered them. “ _Mama and mommy”_ , if she ever dared to occasionally allow herself to imagine that privilege. It was a fantasy occurring in her brain that was popping up more often, especially days where all three of them had nowhere to be except around each other. At that thought, she crumpled her face, hiding it in the crook of the woman’s neck and started sobbing all over again. 

  


She didn't deserve that loving look, not after what she had said to the both of them earlier that afternoon.

  


_~~_

  


_"God Kya, just back the fuck off! You always want to get in my business about everything! Just shut the fuck up! I just… didn’t have enough time to do it okay?", her voice growing meek near the end as her statements were met with an arched brow._

  


_Kya was beginning to feel exasperated with the attitude she had been given ever since the younger girl got home and the obvious lie she had just been told. Kya knew that both parents hated hearing anything less than the truth, and she definitely knew better than to talk to Kya in such a tone. Just as she was about to speak up, Lin had walked into the kitchen, with a deadly look on her face._

  


_“What did I just hear come out of your mouth, young lady? You know those words aren’t allowed in this house. And what’s this I hear about you getting suspended for cheating?”_

  


_“Nothing! Can’t you see that Kya and I were talking?”, Thi shot back, once again fired up at the fact that her other parent had been contacted by the school about her cheating._

  


_Flabbergasted at the way Thi was now speaking to the both of them, Kya spoke up and said, “Excuse me? That is not how you talk to me or Lin. I know you know better than that young lady. Fix your tone please.”_

  


_“Not to mention we need to talk about that phone call we received from Ms. Sei’nakka about you cheating in school. What’s up with that?”, asked Lin. She and Kya had had a talk during Lin’s lunch break about her cheating and how they wanted to talk to Thi about it, but with the way Thi was behaving right now, they’d have to redirect that conversation for after they reigned in Thi’s attitude._

  


_“Okay you know what? Why don’t you guys just back. The fuck. Off?”_

  


_“You better watch it kid. You’re on thin ice right now, and unless you want to have this conversation in my study, you better fix your tone. Now.”, said Lin, before Thi could get in any more words. Unfortunately for Thi, Lin’s warning had gone right over the girl’s head, and only served to get the girl more riled up._

  


_“No! Why don’t you motherfuckers just shut the fuck up? You don’t need to get all up in my goddamn business like this, and you guys won’t help with anything either. You’re both just retarded fucking geezers who like to butt your heads into everything!”_

  


_Silence followed. Both parents were absolutely blown away by the level of disrespect they were just shown, and to be frank, it upset them a little to know that Thi thought of them as such. Lin’s face turned as hard as stone, while Kya turned away, trying to hide the hurt she felt. Only then did Thi realize how much trouble she was in. Just as she was about to say something to them, Lin spoke up._

  


_“Upstairs. Into my study. If you want to talk to talk to Kya and I like that, then you and I are going to have our own conversation before we talk about this cheating.”, Lin regarded the girl with a stern tone. Seeing that Thi was still rooted in her spot, Lin gave her another stern warning, “Now please.”_

  


_Watching Thi ascend the stairs, Lin waited until she heard the click of the study door shutting before she turned to Kya and gave her a tight hug, talking softly into her ear, saying, “Take this time to calm down honey. I’ll deal with our girl.”_

  


_Giving Kya a kiss on the lips, Lin headed towards the stairs._

  


_“Hey Lin?”_

  


_“Yeah?”_

  


_“Don’t be too harsh on her, yeah?”_

  


_The metalbender wordlessly turned back towards the stairs with a soft smile. She would never be able to find it within herself to be too harsh with her daughter, and Kya knew it too. Lin had too big of a soft spot for their daughter._

  


~~

  


Lin brought her right hand up from Thi's hip to wipe her daughter's hair out of her face, gazing lovingly down at her. If her coworkers and extended family saw her like this they would drop dead with their mouths gaping. To them, Lin was a tough, unbreakable rock who would never soften up; a partially true statement if Lin had to say so herself, but with her two beloved girls, her wife and her daughter, she melted into a pile of molten rock and would do anything for them to see their smiles. This was such a different side of Thi than she was used to seeing. This version of her daughter was so vulnerable, heavily craving Lin's comfort and approval. It was a version that so rarely peaked, and it only ever peaked within the confines of their home. In the past, Lin and Kya had been the ones who offered comfort and Thi would be the one cutting it off, but this time, seeing Thi snuggling even closer to Lin made her heart swell and overflow with love.

  


Thinking back, it'd been a year, and during that time, Thi had grown leaps and bounds. She'd manage to carve a hole in her heart and find a home there. When Kya had first brought the sixteen year old home, she and Lin had gotten off to a rocky start, but over time, the rift between them had closed and became the bedrock of their relationship. Lin had grown to love ALL of the moments both she and Kya had with Thi. She loved when the girl would walk to their room, stop just outside their door, and jump in, standing in a crouched position with a cheerful smirk on her face that could only be described as goofier than Meelo’s face. She loved when Thi would mindlessly bounce her leg to the beat of a song, with her head bobbing from side to side whenever music was being played. She loved when Thi would experiment and cook up new foods for all of them to eat together. She especially loved when Thi would talk back to them. Although she had never approved of that behavior and quickly corrected it each time, Lin was glad the girl felt comfortable enough around the two to vocalize her thoughts, respectfully or not. 

  


“It’s all over now, what’s the matter kiddo?” 

  


“I’m sorry!”, Thi sobbed, snot running down her nose and onto Lin’s shirt, “I made you guys mad!”

  


“Hey, hey… eyes on me please”, waiting for Thi to look up at her, Lin rubbed at the girl’s back, “Thank you. To tell you the truth, you did upset us quite a bit, but I’ve already forgiven you for that. You’ll have to go talk to Kya later and apologize, but this doesn’t mean we like you any less, you hear me? We’re more disappointed with your decision to cheat on your schoolwork, but we’ll talk about that later with Kya and get that sorted out.”

  


Having grown accustomed to the girl’s thoughts and actions, Lin knew that whenever she or Kya provided any corrections to Thi’s behavior, she would start doubting the love both she and Kya had for her unless they provided her with some form of comfort and reassurance. They were both more than willing to provide Thi with the affection she wanted and needed, and would do their absolute best to ensure that Thi remembered they wouldn’t love her any less no matter what she did. 

  


“Am I in trouble for cheating?”

  


“... Yes, but not in the way you’re thinking. We’ll all talk about it more after you apologize to Kya. Are you ready to go down now?”

  


After a moment, Thi shyly shook her head, saying, “No… Is it- is it okay if I sit here with you for a little longer?”

  


“Of course sweetie”, Lin immediately replied. To that, Thi rested her head back in the crook of the woman’s neck, basking in the warmth and comfort the woman provided. 

  


~~

  


After another half hour had gone by, Lin had to call an end to their silence, wanting for both parents to have time to have their talk with Thi, as well as for them to get to bed at a reasonable time since Lin still had to get to work in the morning. 

  


"Alright sweetie, I think it's time for you to go find Kya. I believe you have a few words to say to her as well.", began Lin, as she stopped Thi's bottom to rub soothing circles on her back to pat it instead, encouraging her to stand up. Once the girl was on her feet, Lin also stood up, planning on walking behind Thi and helping her find Kya.

  


To Lin’s surprise, the younger girl reached out both her arms again, hooking them around Lin's waist, and rubbed her face along Lin's shirt again, where the collarbone would be, effectively spreading more snot and tears on her shirt. Brushing off the fact that her shirt was now slimy and wet, she reciprocated the hug, rubbing Thi's back with her right hand as the girl let out a couple more sniffles, and kissed her left temple. Then, Lin brought her hand down to the girl's bottom, giving it two pats before pushing Thi back by the shoulders. 

  


"Come on, let's go downstairs and see if Kya's there", Lin regarded the girl, then speaking up again when she saw her shoot her a nervous look, "Don't worry sweetie, I think everything's going to be alright once you two talk." 

  


Thi nodded and to Lin’s surprise, Thi took a few steps forward, then paused, seemingly pondering over something. She stepped back again, this time tentatively looking up into Lin's eyes and grasping onto her left pinky finger.

  


" _Mommy… I love you. I‘ve been wanting to say it to you, but I'm not ready yet. I’m not ready for the rejection I know I'll have to face yet.",_ Thi thought as she gave Lin's finger a soft squeeze.

  


"Will you go with me? Please?", Thi asked with a timidness she rarely saw.

  


"Of course sweetie. I was already planning on coming with you anyways.", her mother replied with a soft smile on her face.

  


They both made their way down the stairs, right into the living room, where Kya was sitting on the couch, reading over a medical book.

  


Hesitantly, Thi called out “K-Kya.... I’m- I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say those things to you.”

  


Kya had actually heard Thi’s sniffling from the top of the stairs but allowed the teenager to make her way down and say something before she looked up from her book. Upon looking up, her heart had melted at the sight of the girl she considered her daughter. Kya was greeted with the adorable sight of her daughter standing there holding onto Lin’s pinky finger with her right hand while rubbing her eyes with her other hand, making her look all the more like a young child. 

  


Wanting the teen close to her, Kya closed her book, patted the seat next to her, and waved the girl over, softly saying, “Come here, sweetie.” 

  


Hesitantly, Thi let go of Lin’s pinky and stepped towards the couch where Kya was sitting. Surprising both parents, Thi chose to sit on Kya’s lap rather than next to her. She rested her head on Kya’s shoulder with her arms around Kya’s waist, similar to how she’d sat with Lin. To surprise Kya even further, Thi spoke up first, rather than Kya having to prompt her with questions.

  


“Kya… I’m sorry for what I said to you earlier. I-I shouldn’t have said those things to you a-and I shouldn’t have cheated on my homework.”, Thi apologized with her head still on Kya’s shoulder, feeling ashamed of the words she had spat at Kya that afternoon. 

  


Kya waited until Thi lifted her head from her shoulder before saying, “Look at me please... Thank you for apologizing. I will admit I was pretty upset at the words you chose to say to me today. You know we would never tolerate such hurtful and inappropriate words.”

  


“I didn’t mean it! I promise!”, Thi retorted, with much less vigor than what she had shown Kya earlier that afternoon. Her eyes glistened with tears again at the thought of the woman who was practically her mother still feeling displeased with her. 

  


“But you in fact did. Every single word that comes out of our mouths has intention. The fact that you chose to say those words whether you think you meant them or not rather than choosing to speak to me respectfully shows that you did mean to say those words and there was some truth behind them.”, Kya sternly replied. Her heart softened seeing Thi’s wet eyes, but continued on, wanting to make sure Thi understood the gravity of her words. The girl was tearing up again at Kya’s words and her heart ached for Thi. 

  


Gently grabbing the girl's chin and forcing her attention up, Kya inquired, "What was going through your head when you said those things? What were you feeling that made you lash out like that?"

  


Letting tears fall one again, she responded, "I was just really a-annoyed that you kept asking me all these questions… I-I didn't want you guys to end up finding out about how I was cheating so I guess I just lashed out…"

  


~~

  


Hearing Thi start talking about what had occurred earlier in the afternoon, Lin moved from leaning against the base of the stair railing to sitting down next to Kya on the couch. She wrapped her arm around Kya's shoulders, giving the woman a loving squeeze, knowing just as well as Kya just how monumental this moment was. This was the first spanking that Lin had ever doled out to the teenager. Lin had expected the girl to get mad and run out of the room like she had done to Katara when she was still a kid after she had been given her first spanking, yet Thi had chosen to seek comfort from her. For the past year, Thi had slowly but surely started opening up to both Kya and Lin in terms of seeking comfort. At first, Thi would never seek any hugs unless Kya initiated them, and she certainly never sought out a hug or returned one when Lin was home. Over time though, Lin also opened her heart a little wider for the girl and would initiate hugs from time to time. Still, Thi would never ask them for any comfort, no matter how many cues she gave off that told both parents that she indeed did want comfort and affection. They were always the ones to ask her. It wasn’t until both Kya and Lin sat her down and told her that they would always provide her comfort if she wanted it, no matter the situation, that she started asking when she wanted any comfort. Today had been another first though. This was the first time Thi was the one to actively seek comfort without having to ask. Something both parents were so incredibly warmed by. 

  


~~

  


"So you didn't want me to find out… Thi, how many times have Lin and I told you that we would always be willing to try and help you out with your schoolwork in any way we can?”, Kya questioned.

  


Looking down into her lap for a while, the teenager eventually shrugged her shoulders and said, “I don’t know… A lot.”

  


“Mhm. A lot. From the way your grades look right now, you look like you’re doing well. Having you been cheating in those classes as well?”, Kya continued questioning. “I want the truth please.”

  


“.......Yeah, for some of them.”

  


“Which ones?”

  


“History, but you guys already know that… umm English, physics, and math.”

  


Both parents had to take a minute to process this information their girl had just admitted. 4 classes? That was over half of all the classes she had! How long had the teenager been doing this for? How far behind was she in school? Both parents were dumbstruck. They had thought that Thi had always been on top of her game with school, not that she was constantly cheating. Kya and Lin needed to get to the bottom of this issue today.

  


“How long have you been cheating in school for Thi?”, Lin questioned. The girl’s head moved from Kya to Lin.

  


“I don’t know… For a really long time I guess. Ever since 7th grade?” Thi dropped her head back onto Kya’s shoulders after admitting that she’d basically been cheating her way through school for the past 4 years. “I knew how to do the work! I swear! I just… got really lazy with the assignments and stuff…”

  


They couldn’t believe this. 4 years? That was almost a majority of Thi’s teenage years. Originally, before Lin had even gone up to her study to have her discussion with Thi, both parents had been planning on only checking Thi’s homework everyday, but now... Now they had to make sure she was actually doing her work. Even if the girl had told them she understood all her lessons, they couldn’t fully believe her, knowing that there was no way the girl actually understood all those lessons through cheating, no matter how intelligent they knew she was. After 4 years of cheating, they suspected the amount of work she was starting to put off was catching up to her. There was no way she was fully understanding her Calculus and Physics class right now. Kya and Lin would make sure their child would get rid of this bad habit and learn to work honestly.

  


“Alright… Well, here’s what we’re going to do. You’re already grounded for what you said to Kya and I from now until the next week. You’ve already gotten a spanking for cheating in school, and from now until the foreseeable future, you will be sitting in the dining room every day to work on your assignments.”, Lin told the girl, laying out her sentence for her. 

  


“But-”

  


“No Thi. You’ve been cheating for far too long and this is just to make sure you really understand your schoolwork. Considering how long you’ve been cheating, it’s all going to catch up very soon, if it hasn’t already caught up with you. We know how late you’ve been staying up every single day. That will change from now on too honey. You need to be sleeping properly and honestly doing your homework at a reasonable time. Your body is still growing and developing sweetie. I know you’ve got a lot more potential in you. More than just cheating. I’ll be- no. We’ll be damned if we continue letting you act so dishonestly anymore.”, Lin butted in, cutting Thi off before she could cut off what the woman had been saying to her, with Kya nodding her head. Ever the strict person, Lin had no qualms with clearly laying out all her terms. They were okay with letting the girl have freedom, but they certainly weren’t afraid of reigning her in when they felt like she’d gone too far astray. 

  


Reluctantly agreeing, Thi dropped her head back onto Kya’s shoulder and whispered, “Okay. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.” 

  


Chuckling lightly at how quickly Thi had accepted her fate, Kya responded with, “It’s alright sweetie, but I don’t want a repeat of the cheating okay?” 

  


Feeling the teenager nod her head, she began soothingly rubbing her back. 

  


“Are you guys still angry at me?”, Thi shyly asked, not looking up from Kya’s shoulder.

  


“No sweetie. We never were. We were disappointed and upset with your actions, but we would never be angry at you.”, Lin responded, just softly.

  


Yet again, to both parents’ surprise, Thi reached out with her hands and grasped onto their hands. Kya with her right hand and Lin with her left. Knowing her parents weren’t angry at her, she closed her eyes and relished the feeling of comfort despite the aching in her backside while a frequently recurring thought made its way back into her head. 

  


Knowing the girl, whenever she was this silent, she was always thinking of something. Lin removed her hand from Kya’s shoulder and used it to brush the hair out of Thi’s face, asking, “What’s wrong kiddo?”

  


Thi let out a sigh, this time of contentment, shook her head, and just responded with, “Nothing.”, while smiling softly. 

  


To her, Kya and Lin were the best people she had ever met. They were stern, but never unkind; loving, but never overbearing. They were always reasonable with their expectations and provided her with the structure she never knew she even wanted. She was so incredibly grateful for the women she secretly considered her parents. She could only hope they felt the same way about her. Thi vowed to herself right then and there that she would become the child they deserved to have. She promised to herself that one day, she would earn the right to call Kya and Lin, “Mama and Mommy.” To utter those words now would be the biggest display of selfishness she would ever show. No. Thi couldn’t do it. No matter how hard the words “Mama” and “Mommy” were bubbling in her heart, rising up like bile in her throat, trying to push past the tip of her tongue, Thi couldn’t do it. Being raised by two caring parents was enough of a privilege, a privilege that she had only ever experienced in her wildest dreams before being taken in by Kya and Lin. Over the course of the year in which she had been with the two of them, her grades had improved remarkably, her bad habits reigned in with the strict but loving system that had been set up for her. She would never be able to live with the shame she’d feel if those words were the ones that would cast her away from the two people her heart had grown to love the most in the whole entire world. She didn’t deserve to say those words. Words that were reserved for someone who truly deserved their love and affection. Love that she felt she had to earn before she could even think about saying those words. For now though, she would do all she could to earn their love. Eventually, she promised herself, eventually she would become their daughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo that was my oneshot. Please provide any constructive criticisms that you guys have. This is my first time writing any fanfic, so any tips at all help A LOT. Also in the flashback scene, there was a pretty big section that I took out because I wanted more time to plan it out, so if you guys want, I could post that part as either a separate oneshot or just another chapter of this fanfic. Let me know what you guys want in the comments please!
> 
> Also, this thing took me from march till now bc i straight up didn't know how to format it and didn't even know where to start???
> 
> If you guys want to ask me any questions, my tumblr is "rilesscott" lol


	2. Flashback Scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, this is the flashback scene that I mentioned I took out of the previous part bc I said I wanted more time to plan it out lol. This scene is just the event that led to Thi getting caught cheating and what happened in the principal's office haha. Anywayssss plz enjoy lol

She didn’t even see how it happened. One moment Thi was sitting at the usual table with her group of friends copying off homework from someone else’s notebook. The next moment the girl saw a hand smack down on her paper, crinkling the homework in its hands, and ripping it out of her sight. 

Thinking it was one of her friends, she turned around and spat out, "YOU BITCH!" 

Instant regret came crashing down on Thi as she saw that it was, in fact, not her friend. Rather, it was her strict history teacher, Mrs. Ahatatak, holding both sheets of homework in her hands, flipping it front and back. 

Shaking her head with disappointment, she yelled back, "I'M SENDING THIS TO SEI'NAKKA."

With that, Mrs. Ahatatak disappeared into her classroom, leaving Thi sitting there in shock, her friends staring at her in silence. The moment she came down from the shock, the teenager knew she had to come up with an excuse soon, and the ones she was coming up with right now… she knew her principal would see through them like a firebender blasting through hay. She usually always had good excuses to use that wouldn't at least land her in too much trouble, yet today, she couldn't come up with anything. 

Just a week before, the principal had come to each 10th grade PE class and given her grade a lecture about cheating. She had even laid out the consequence: automatic suspension. Obviously, Thi didn't heed those words and continued on with cheating as she normally did. 

~~

_She thought she’d come up with a genius plan back then that would ease her workload and ensure her a passing homework grade. She knew that each semester, the kids in her grade would switch subjects, from science to history and vice versa; she also knew that the AP US History course was especially difficult in terms of workload. With this knowledge, she had managed to convince all the kids in the AP Biology and AP US History classes to switch notebooks with each other before the start of the spring semester. It really was a genius plan and almost guaranteed a perfect grade without raising any suspicions. By the time the teacher would’ve checked, too much time would've passed for them to remember anyone's work, unless the student’s work was stunningly good. How ironic was it that Thi had ended up getting caught by the one teacher she was trying to outsmart?_

~~

Thi didn’t get called up to the office until her third period and leading up till then, she was a nervous wreck. Trudging her way up to the principal’s office, her mind was running through a list of possible excuses she could use. She knew they could be _used_ , but they obviously wouldn’t work. Her friends had tried calming her down earlier in the day, but she just couldn’t release the ball of anxiety she was feeling in her stomach. She was too worried about what Kya’s and Lin’s reactions would be and hoped that they wouldn't be too angry. They had emphasized multiple times to her that they would rather her try her best to do her own work and ask them for help rather than her taking the easy way out and cheating. 

~~

For them to find out that she had basically gone against their words again… well, she didn’t want to find out. The last time she had gone against them she had been grounded for a month and gotten the lecture of her life. As lucky as she had been with only getting grounded, that lecture was still clear as day in Thi’s mind. After that day, she hadn’t said a cuss word anywhere near them ever again. And even though that scolding had been memorable, she knew she would keep what happened after it in her memory for the rest of her life. 

_After she had been scolded by Kya, she was given something so unexpected that she had almost started sobbing right then and there. She was given a hug; however, it wasn’t just any hug. It wasn’t like the hugs her friends gave her where they were loose, quick, and given in greeting. The hug Kya was giving her was so much better. For this hug, she could feel the warmth being wrapped around her. The love. It wasn’t quick like the ones with her friends. Rather, Kya didn’t let go until Thi chose to let go first, and the whole time, she rubbed up and down Thi’s back, as if she knew that Thi was craving comfort after that scolding. It felt so comforting that the tears she had been holding back almost fell from her eyes._

~~

Being pulled back to the present by Ms. Sei’nakka’s question, Thi quickly tried to come up with a believable lie. Drawing up a blank, she eventually decided to tell the partial truth, which was, “I stayed up too late doing my other homework and was too tired to do my history homework…”

"Were you not there for the talk I had with every single PE class? You've been at this school long enough to know that the students here are expected to uphold the standard of hard work and integrity that goes into everything they do.", lectured Ms. Sei'nakka. Continuing on, she said, “I know for a fact that you know better. Your past test scores that I’m seeing on my screen right now show that you do know your information well, so what’s going on with the homework aspect? Are you too tired? Or are you just too lazy to do your work?”

Ms. Sei’nakka’s lecture had Thi going silent. The fire she usually had when trying to squeeze her way out of trouble had fizzled out when Ms. Sei’nakka inadvertently pointed out her laziness, leaving the young teenager with nothing to say. Ms. Sei’nakka was right, of course. She has and always had been lazy when doing her schoolwork. She had gotten away with it in elementary and middle school because she was a gifted kid, but with no meaningful authority figure to teach her useful work and study habits, Thi slacked off, leaving her homework blank all the way till midnight, until she either forced herself to start working or was too tired to do it, leaving the work till the next day and copying off of friends during breaks. She acknowledged in her head that this was a bad habit, but had no idea how to unlearn that routine and start learning better work habits. 

Feeling uncomfortable with the burning look her principal was giving her, Thi looked to her left and down at the floor, repeating her poor excuse of, “I was just tired…”

Seeing as to how Thi had nothing to really say for herself, the golden-eyed principal dismissed her back to her third-period class, asking her, “Which parent do you want me to call?”

To that Thi replied, “Ehh, it doesn’t matter. They’ll both find out either way. They’re a team like that…”

Watching Thi walk down the hallway back into her class, Rangi leaned back in her chair and let out a long sigh. She hated this part of the job. Always having to be the one to dole out the punishment to a guilty charge, always having to be the one to hear parents’ disappointment on the other end of the phone. She knew Thi was a smart girl. Ever since she had started attending this school back at the beginning of the year, her test scores displayed great results, so why was it that the girl wasn’t doing her assigned work at home? Rangi barely knew much about Thi’s parents but knew enough to know that one of Thi’s mothers was a master healer, while the other was the Police Chief, both people who surely valued hard work. They might as well have been her parents even though Thi wasn’t adopted yet, seeing that Thi had already lived with them for about a year before the incident today. If Rangi couldn’t fish an answer out of the girl, she suspected that Kya and Lin would be able to. 

  
By now, Rangi could feel a headache creeping up from the back of her skull and she squeezed her eyes shut, forehead wrinkling. _Please just let this day be over so I can go home to Kyoshi and destress over the weekend,_ the firebender principal thought. Willing herself to power through the day, Rangi sat up again, smoothing out her suit. Then, she searched up the girl’s parents’ contact information, before picking up the phone and dialing Lin’s number.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please provide any constructive criticisms that you guys have. This is my first time writing any fanfic, so any tips at all help A LOT.
> 
> Also, if you guys want to ask me any questions, my tumblr is "rilesscott" lol


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